*This is a developing story. More details to follow.*

The Prime Minister of Australia has announced the removal of the 457 visa programme. It is expected to be replaced by two new temporary work visas.

When is the 457 visa programme going to be removed?

The plan for complete removal is by March 2018. The definite date has not been announced.

I am currently on a 457 visa! What will happen to my status?

At this time we understand that all existing 457 visa holders wil maintain their visa status. No further 457 visas will be issued.

I have an ongoing 457 visa application! What will happen to it now?

At this time there has not been any information with regards to applications being processed. We will provide details on this matter as soon as it is available.

Key terms: Queensland State Sponsorship – Subclass 190 Skilled Nominated Visa – Subclass 489 Skilled Regional Sponsored Visa – General Skilled Migration

The Queensland state migration department – Business & Skilled Migration Queensland (BSMQ) has suspended all applications for state nomination/sponsorship on 10 April 2017. The suspension affects state sponsorship applications for:

·         subclass 190 Skilled Nominated visas

·         subclass 489 Skilled Regional Sponsored visas (sponsored by Australian State/Territory)

While most other state and territory migration agencies will finalised applications already lodged, BSMQ will freeze and not process all unfinalised applications until the new programme year on 1 July 2017. The BSMQ announcement reads:

Key terms: South Australia State Sponsorship – Chain Migration – High Points Nomination - Supplementary Skill List – Subclass 190 Skilled Nominated Visa – Subclass 489 Skilled Regional Sponsored Visa

Immigration South Australia (SA) has announced changes to its state sponsorship programme effective yesterday, 5^th April 2017. Two major changes were announced and the details are below.

Change to High Points Requirement

Immigration SA allows access to the Supplementary Skill List of occupations if a SkillSelect applicant is able to meet the high points requirement on the points test. Starting from yesterday the high points requirements has been increase from 80 to 85 points. Applicants will now need to seek additional 5 points to nominate occupations on the Supplementary Skill List or special condition occupations.

Occupations no longer eligible for High Points or Chain Migration Nomination

Key terms: Partner visa – Processing times – Partner visa subclass 801 – Partner visa subclass 820

2018 Update & Related Articles: 

Partner Visa Sponsorship & Policy Update 2018: Changes Affecting Processing Times & Force Offshore Partner Visa Applications

Australia partner visa applications allow an Australian citizen or permanent resident to sponsor a partner from overseas or a partner on a temporary visa in Australia. Partner visas can be lodged offshore (the applicant is not in Australia at the time of application) or onshore (applicant is in Australia at the time of application).

The Director for the Onshore Partner Migration management team has issued a letter announcing new processing arrangements for onshore partner visa application (subclass 820 / 801 /100). The letter states:

This year the Department is facing a particularly difficult resourcing environment with pressure to decrease staff numbers in line with the Government’s wider plans to reduce public sector expenditure. In the Partner Migration programme this is occurring in an environment of continued high application rates, growing pipelines onshore, and significant fraudulent activity.

Updated numbers for occupation ceilings under the SkillSelect Programme!

Every year the Australian migration programme sets an occupation ceiling for each skilled occupation on the Skilled Occupation List (SOL). The occupation ceiling limits the number of invitations (Invitation to Apply) which can be issued to a particular occupation under the SkillSelect programme.

As of 31 March 2017 two groups of occupations have met their respective occupation ceilings and will no longer receive further invitations for this programme year. The two groups of occupations are:

·         Other Engineering Professionals (ANZSCO Group 2339)

·         Computer Network Professional (ANZSCO Group 2631)

If your nominated occupation is from the ANZSCO Group above, you will not receive an Invitation to Apply (ITA) until the invitation rounds from 1 July 2017 onwards.

The occupation ceilings apply to the subclass 189 Skilled Independent Visa and subclass 489 Skilled Regional Sponsored Visa (Relative) categories. State or Territory Nominated visas (subclass 190 and 489), Employer Sponsored (subclass 457, ENS 186 and RSMS 187) or Business Innovation and Investment visa subclasses are not subject to the occupation ceilings.

The Western Australia (WA) state government has announced the following with regards to the state migration services:

• An interim Western Australian skilled migration occupation list (WASMOL) is now in place for all new state sponsorship/nomination applications
• The Regional Certification Body (RCB) applications for subclass 187 Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS) visa nominations are now open for regional WA and excludes Perth
• All applications submitted before the suspension on 13 March 2017 will be processed according to criteria and policy effective at that time

More on the changes below.

Key terms: Australian Student Visa - Subclass 500 - Visa application requirements - financial evidence - Genuine Temporary Entrant (GTE) criterion

The Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) has announced that the immigration risk rating for all education providers and countries will be updated on 31 March 2017. The immigration risk rating determines the financial, English and other evidences required for the student visa application under the Simplified Student Visa Framework (SSVF).

The DIBP has used data of student visa applications lodged between 1 January to 31 December 2016 to assign new immigration risk ratings to education providers and countries. It is also mentioned that the next update will happen in September 2017, using application data from 1 July 2016 to 30 June 2017.

To determine the type of financial, English and other evidence required for your student visa application you will need to use the online Document Checklist Tool which can be found on the Subclass 500 Student Visa webpage on the DIBP website.

If you need clarification on the evidence required or your circumstances, please contact a Registered Migration Agent to know more before applying. You need to be aware of the new requirements (if any) when you lodge your student visa application after 31 March 2017.

Sources:

http://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Visa-1/500-

 

Comments by Chris Johnston – Principal Lawyer and Registered Migration Agent at Work Visa Lawyers

It looks like the DIBP will be having a periodic revision of the immigration risk ratings for the Student visa programme. This may be a response to the media reports of student visa scams by education providers 1-2 years ago.

While the immigration risk rating affects the type of evidence required, you are reminded that the basic requirements for the student visas include financial capacity, English and also the meeting of the Genuine Temporary Entrant (GTE) criteria. At Work Visa Lawyers we have received an increase of enquiries from applicants who have had their student visa applications refused. Most of the refusals were on the grounds of not meeting the GTE requirements so I would recommend paying attention to meet the GTE requirements in addition to financial and English requirements.

This information is accurate on 28 March 2017

Do you need help with an Australian visa application?

At Work Visa Lawyers we are experienced in assisting applicants in all matters relating to Australian visa applications. Our areas of expertise include Skilled Migration visas, Business Skills Migration visas, Employer Sponsored Work Visas, Partner and other Family Migration visas as well as the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) Review, Judicial Review and Ministerial Intervention.

If you require further information regarding your Australia visa options you can contact us through:

(08) 8351 9956 or +61 8 8351 9956

or   This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The newly elected Premier of Western Australia (WA) has moved to remove WA from the subclass 187 Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS) visa programme. On Friday the 17 of March 2017, Mark McGowan MP submitted a letter to the Australian Prime Minister with the following:

"I would like to request that Perth be removed from the Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS)."

Key terms: SkillSelect – Invitation to Apply – Skilled Independent subclass 189 - Skilled Regional Provisional subclass 489 – Expression of Interest – Points Test

Results for the SkillSelect invitation round on 1 March 2017 have been published. Here is a summary of the results:

• 1832 Skilled Independent visa invitations were issued (up from 1253 in the previous round)
  • applications with 60 points or more were invited
  • applications submitted 1 March 2017 have been invited
• 32 Skilled Regional Sponsored visa invitations were issued (up from 27 in the previous round)
  • applications with 60 points or more were invited
  • applications submitted 28 February 2017 were invited